Timothy Royle is alleged to have stole almost £7,000 of cash as well as expensive equipment from the school where he was headteacher

A headteacher who advised Gordon Brown and David Cameron's governments on education pocketed almost £7,000 of school cash and stole expensive equipment, a court heard today.

Timothy Royle is alleged to have falsely reported how bursary funds were spent over the three years leading up to his retirement from Highdown School and Sixth Form Centre in 2012.

All the while, he was keeping the cash and taking home cameras, a MacBook Pro laptop, an iMac computer and a set of speakers and headphones, a court heard.

The 64-year-old was appointed as one of the first national leaders in education, awarded to headteachers of outstanding schools who advise the Government on policy and help other struggling schools.

He joined the Reading-based school, Berkshire, in 1998 and is accused of pocketing £2,000 in 2008, £2,246 the following year and £2,550 in 2010.

Prosecuting, John Law told the jury at Reading Crown Court: 'This defendant is accused of offences of fraud and of theft.

'He was the headteacher of a school and we say he abused the status he had and the school had, by keeping public monies for his own benefit.

'He also took when retiring from the school items with him that he was not entitled to.'

The court heard alarm bells were sounded by the school business manager after Royle retired and an investigation was launched.

Mr Law told the jury: 'You will hear in this case about something called the National College for Teaching and Leadership. This case is about payments that the public body paid to Highdown School.

'Mr Royle was recognised for his work and selected as a national leader of education. The school was given national support school status. High performing schools assist others, so monies are available in association with that.'

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The court was told that the school was entitled to bursary grants between 2008 and 2010, which helped cover the costs of sending staff to other schools and to training days.

Nicholas Syfret QC, defending, said that Royle had been 'instrumental' in improving the previously failing school, so much so the arts building was named in his honour.

Mr Law said: 'The payments were applied for and made directly into a business account in Mr Royle's name. After that, he had to file a report at the end of the year to say where the money had been spent.

Mr Royle joined Highdown School and Sixth Form Centre in Reading, Berkshire (pictured) in 1998 and is accused of pocketing £2,000 in 2008, £2,246 the following year and £2,550 in 2010

'If any funds are left over at the end of the year, they are repaid to the National College or knocked off the following year.

'What we say Mr Royle did was to falsely report - lie - that the money was spent on attending conferences when he knew the school paid for attendance of conferences, both directly and by paying him back for invoices he sent to the school.

'The real question is whether Mr Royle was acting dishonestly.'

The court heard after Royle retired, staff noticed a number of items missing. Police went to his house in Woolton Hill, near Newbury, Berkshire and found items matching the description of the ones reported missing.

Mr Law said: 'We understand that the defendant accepts that the computers had come from the school but the Nikon camera, Sony video camera and headphones did not.

The former headteacher (pictured meeting then Education and Employemnt secretary David Blunkett in 2001) has now been arrested for fraud

'What he was saying is that he was entitled to take the computers for reasons including that there would be work on there he might need to access.'

Witness Neil Dimbleby, who was deputy headteacher at the school at the time, said he knew Royle had taken two computers when he left and wasn't aware of any agreement to allow the headteacher to take them.

But he was challenged by the defence lawyer Mr Syfret who said the deputy had never seen any documents pertaining to how the bursary was run at the time of the alleged offence.

'There may have been a policy for recovering items from the school,' Mr Syfret added. 'That would certainly be delegated to the headteacher.

'If these decisions involved what was done with old laptops, that would not necessarily involve you.'

Royle denies three counts of fraud and five counts of theft. The trial continues.